Sunday, February 9, 2014

The weather continues to be outright freezing cold lately. Although it does fluctuate between below zero degrees F, and around 25 degrees F...! The other day it was -5 degrees F (which is approximately -20C fo y'alls who use Celsius..!) That's SO COLD OMG. So needless to say I've been knitting and knitting....and knitting!

The lady who did the pattern is Vanessa Ewing, and she's really nice! I was stuck on how to do this pattern a while ago and she helped me out by sharing a video on Youtube of a person knitting the Indian Cross Stitches pattern which is effectively what this pattern is only modified to change how the rows alternate. I really adore it. Such an easy and fast knit and if you use the Gina worsted weight yarn by Plymouth (it's 100% wool)

it comes out looking beautiful due to the way they dye the yarn. I love dip-dye effects and color gradients. :3 Especially when they're all rainbow-y!

I loved it so much that I finished a second one:

I just love the yarn so much. ^___^

I also got some knitting books to get some new patterns, and plus they just looked like fun. :D

I was trying to use it to make a Steelers Scarf but it didn't really work with the pattern, transitioning between the two colors :(

I really do adore the way the yellow yarn looks in this pattern though so I will likely just frog the crap outta it and start over with just yellow, saving the black for another time.

That yarn is also by Plymouth, it's their Baby Alpaca Grande. From what I understand, "baby alpaca" doesn't mean the fibers came from a baby alpaca, but that it's indicative of the fineness of the fiber. Odd, huh? All this time I was picturing an adorable baby alpaca getting sheared down to naked, hehe. I guess it's just an adult alpaca getting sheared! :P

Anyhoo. That's all I got for now. I'm also working on sewing an Elsa costume for my next door neighbor's daughter using a child's pattern I found on Etsy. I'll have to make my next blog post about that. And knitting, of course! :)

I also plan to crochet a Totoro Amigurumi, but I haven't crocheted since highschool so this should be interesting. I plan to YouTube all of the pattern techniques so I have a better idea of what I am doing, lol.

Beautiful scarves! What a neat looking pattern--I'd love to see a link to it making it easy for others to get and use. :) I also love the colors in those Gina yarns! Another one to add to my get-someday wish list!

I agree with you that the yellow yarn shows the pattern better than the black. I've noticed that myself with dark yarns...cables don't "pop" out as much because there's less shadowing.

What do you mean baby alpaca fiber isn't actually from a baby alpaca?!?!? That's certainly what it sounds like! I guess I need to take some time--someday--and learn more about the fibers in my yarns, but it's just so much fun using them instead. :)

Thanks Stephanie. I love Gina yarn. I just started a new project with Gina 005 (Sunset) colorway. It's called Ojo de Dios Shawl by Vanessa Ewing, the same gal who did this scarf. I really adore her patterns... I am finding myself purchasing more and more of her stuff lately. xDhttp://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ojo-de-dios-shawl

Sorry I did not include a link to the Gina scarf pattern. Seems like most of the people who read this blog (if anyone it all, lol!) do not have Ravelry accounts, and I thought you had to have an account on there to view patterns...(?) I could be wrong though. Either way, I added the link in for people to access it. :D Luckily it is a free pattern, but the stitch isn't too uncommon, methinks, cause I found some youtube videos on how to do it under the title "Indian Cross Stitches." I think Vanessa modified it a little for this type of yarn though altho I guess one could add greater or fewer rows depending on the look they're going for. ^__~http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/f428-gina-scarf